Toronto teacher on 'home assignment' after handing out racist jokes

The Toronto District School Board is canvassing staff and students at a west-end high school to find out why a drama teacher distributed a list of “inappropriate” jokes, including one-liners about sex, blondes and dead babies.

The jokes were part of a class assignment ostensibly intended to inspire students’ own comedic writing, but a complaint from a parent prompted the TDSB to place teacher Jeff Jones on “home assignment” while the board investigates.

“Board officials will be speaking with everyone involved, whether it’s students or the teacher, so they’ll try to get as much information about it as they can,” TDSB spokesman Ryan Bird said Friday.

Mr. Jones, who has taught at Oakwood Collegiate Institute for eight years, distributed the jokes mid-January to one drama class, the board said. Among the dozens of one-liners were quips involving racism, dead babies and gang-banging, along with a series of blonde jokes. Some appear to have been selected for their shock value, while others were more innocuous.

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“That’s what they’re looking into right now as part of the investigation,” Mr. Bird said, noting it is possible the assignment was also used in previous classes. “That is one of the things they are looking at [and] trying to figure out if this was done in the past.”

Mr. Jones continues to receive pay while on home assignment, which is not considered a disciplinary measure, the board said. Pending the outcome of the investigation, he will work on lesson plans and other material at home while a supply teacher covers his classes at Oakwood.